Chapter 151: Has Gervas Also Fallen?!

"Besides you, not a single soul is still alive?"

The nobles finally erupted in shock.

The collapse of the left-wing army, though shocking, was not unheard of in warfare.

But with over twenty minor nobles perishing—only three escaped, plus Count Farrio—the casualty rate left the nobles deeply shaken.

After all, most of them were minor nobles themselves.

Put yourself in their place—how utterly hopeless would that be?

"Gervas also fell?"

At the same time, among the nobles, Catherine sat frozen, her head ringing.

She had felt a flicker of satisfaction seeing Farrio dusty and disheveled.

But once she heard that all other minor nobles had perished except these few, she finally realized.

Gervas had been in that group too.

Thinking of the handsome, composed young noble who always wore a calm, gentle expression, Catherine felt an unexpected pang in her heart.

On that dark, terrifying night, it was his handsome face appearing through the rooftop hole that brought her unprecedented hope.

When she was being dragged toward the city wall by bandits, it was that tall, noble figure who reappeared and rescued her from them.

She remembered the first time she embraced a man other than her father.

He was the only one besides her father who made her feel safe and reliable.

He was dead.

She hadn't even had time to say goodbye!

Though she had only met Gervas a few times.

Yet undeniably, because of his rescue and his mysterious, unique nature, he had already occupied a special place in her heart.

After that, Catherine could no longer hear what the others were discussing.

Of course, the world around her did not pause for Catherine.

Having confirmed the fate of the left-wing army from the three minor nobles, Narsy no longer questioned—they began discussing the risks the main army must now guard against.

"Gentlemen, I believe we must retreat immediately. What do you think?" Narsy asked the nobles.

"Commandant Narsy, should we wait until dawn to retreat?"

"No, gentlemen—I propose we retreat now!"

Gasps erupted.

"Commandant Narsy, is it really necessary to retreat tonight? They're only five or six thousand savages—and we don't even know if they'll come!"

"Exactly! We could just send a few thousand men tonight to guard that pass! And with the intelligence of those tribal savages, could they possibly devise any complex attack plan?"

"Right! It's the middle of the night—now we have to start marching again? This is too much trouble!"

At this moment, the nobles clearly hadn't grasped the severity of the situation.

After all, they had no intelligence network—they still believed only the left-wing army had suffered a mishap.

Narsy immediately frowned; the nobles' arrogance was his greatest obstacle in commanding the army.

And the nobles weren't just arrogant toward their own side—they were equally arrogant toward the enemy.

They weren't arrogant toward themselves.

Didn't these fools realize that these savages had seized dozens of noble territories, large and small, totaling the size of a marquisate?

And if we still underestimate them now, the left-wing army is the perfect example!

"Report!"

Just as Narsy was about to speak, a frantic cry pierced the tent.

Immediately, a cavalry scout captain rushed in.

"Commandant, a large enemy force has been spotted thirty li behind us, along the road toward Baron Billy's territory—minimum six thousand, expected to reach camp in two hours."

Everyone froze. Even Narsy was stunned. "Did you report incorrectly? The enemy should be approaching from the left, from Viscount O'Neil's territory!"

Baron Billy's territory lay along the right-wing route—so if enemies were attacking from behind, they should have come from the left.

The scout captain hesitated, then recalled his patrol route for the day—he hadn't made a mistake.

"Commandant, I did not misreport. My patrol zone today was along the right side of the army, on the road northwest toward Baron Billy's territory!"

Gasps erupted.

"So it's the right road… then… where is our right-wing army? How did these savages get behind us? Could they have…?"

The nobles turned ashen, too terrified to finish the thought.

If enemies had appeared on the right, it meant the right-wing army had suffered even worse than the left.

The left-wing army at least had a few nobles escape to report—right-wing had none.

"Report!"

"Commandant, enemy forces spotted twenty li behind us, along the left road toward Viscount O'Neil's territory—minimum eight thousand, expected to reach camp in two hours!"

"Report!"

"Commandant, the main tribal army has been spotted thirty li ahead—minimum twenty thousand, expected to arrive in three hours…"

As the nobles reeled in disbelief, even more horrifying reports arrived.

Not only had enemies appeared from the left-wing direction—the long-missing main tribal force now revealed itself directly ahead.

The nobles stared, dumbfounded, cold sweat breaking out along their spines.

"We… we've been surrounded!!!"

"Commandant Narsy, should we still retreat?" The inspector, who had remained silent until now, urgently asked.

Narsy's face turned ashen—he finally understood.

Retreat?

It wasn't a question of whether to retreat anymore.

Their rear escape route had been cut off.

Behind them, the combined enemy force numbered at least fourteen thousand.

With the tribes' combat strength, they couldn't annihilate forty thousand troops—but they could easily stall their retreat.

So if we didn't want to be caught between front and rear, holding the camp and waiting for reinforcements was the only viable option!

"Retreat is impossible—we've been surrounded!"

"Issue orders: all troops on alert! Laborers immediately reinforce the wooden walls and construct defensive works!"

"Also, dispatch five messenger squads on horseback to Lei Dun Fortress—inform the Commander-in-Chief we need reinforcements. Remember, this message concerns the survival of our central army—deliver it at all costs."

…

【Ding! Daily intelligence has refreshed…】

【Intelligence One: After two days of flight, the group of four nobles led by Count Farrio has safely returned to the central army!】

【Farrio has fully shifted blame for the army's collapse onto others.】

【Believing no other nobles could have survived, Farrio concealed the fact that his own cowardly flight was the true cause of the left-wing army's final collapse.】

【Intelligence Two: Farrio doesn't know that besides his group, another five nobles escaped the tribal pursuit.】

【They survived only because Commander Brick sacrificed himself to block the tribal chase.】

【But knowing more tribal cavalry would pursue, they hid in a dense forest and dared not travel the main roads—so they have not yet rejoined the central army.】

【Intelligence Three: Because of Count Farrio's report, you have been added to the list of fallen nobles!】

【Viscountess Catherine is thus stricken with grief…】